What software do you wish existed?

[it_and_sales_freelancer]

I want to find ideas for software products to build and was hoping you could share some of your unmet needs in this area.

Are you having difficulty finding software to solve a problem you are having?

Have you been reviewing software options that....

• have fell short of what you need?
• seem unreasonably expensive?
• feel outdated to the point it puts you off?

I'd also be interested to know how much you would pay on a monthly subscription basis for the software.

 

[Boyce]

Ooh I'll play

In fantasy land I'd have a sort of retail suite I can install on my own server for POS, stock management and with something like Trello and Slack integrated.

Basically I want to pick up an ipad or go on a touch screen terminal or my laptop at home and be able to sell something, also check stock, add items to a multi-user to do list, directly message specific users or a class of user etc.

Each thing exists individually so I guess it's the plumbing between that you could provide - work with a POS/stock management suite provider to integrate APIs for, say, Trello and Slack

 

[tony84]

There is a similar thread to this elsewhere.
I realise this is just initial research, but is there a particular industry you know well/have contacts you could work with to develope something?

As an example, the back office systems in the mortgage world are severely lacking to the point I have had to look in the generic world to find something that will do what I want.

 

[it_and_sales_freelancer]

Ooh I'll play

Woho, thanks!

Basically I want to pick up an ipad or go on a touch screen terminal or my laptop at home and be able to sell something, also check stock, add items to a multi-user to do list, directly message specific users or a class of user etc.

If I understand it you are using these collaboration tools to manage additional workflows. Can you list some examples of these? Eg, when orders come in for a customized product, you create a card on the printing trello board so that department can begin work on it?

Which particular pain point of having separate systems is hurting most? Copying data between them? Is it hard to keep track of whats happening because info is stored on multiple systems? Do you feel much of the message sending could be automated? Do you just find the user experience of dealing with multiple apps is cumbersome, awkward and unpleasant?

As an example, the back office systems in the mortgage world are severely lacking to the point I have had to look in the generic world to find something that will do what I want.

I think I came across a previous post of yours about this - Ill review it again. I have varying levels of experience in inbound and outbound call centers, software houses, contract management and small stints in retail and finance (credit / debt). Many ideas I have would face stiff competition. A post like this is just to cast the net wide, see if it catches anything that looks like a product niche fit that i would have the domain knowledge (or access to it) to tackle.

 

[Boyce]

If I understand it you are using these collaboration tools to manage additional workflows. Can you list some examples of these? Eg, when orders come in for a customized product, you create a card on the printing trello board so that department can begin work on it?

I'm thinking about the restaurant trade - so much of everything is done on scraps of till receipt. It'd help me manage both regular and irregular tasks, see who's done (or claimed to have done) what, provide timestamped evidence of who saw or reacted to what message etc. Could well be rolled across multiple sites and save duplication of some things too.

Which particular pain point of having separate systems is hurting most? Copying data between them? Is it hard to keep track of whats happening because info is stored on multiple systems? Do you feel much of the message sending could be automated? Do you just find the user experience of dealing with multiple apps is cumbersome, awkward and unpleasant?

Yes, all of the above. Bear in mind the users would generally not be hospitality professionals. I want to chuck a locked-down ipad at each of the floor staff so they can take orders on it, I want the orders to come straight off of the stock, I want a synchronised to-do list they can get stuck in to in quieter points and messaging so they can be in the loop with any kitchen issues or anything like that.

 

[ffox]

In fantasy land I'd have a sort of retail suite I can install on my own server for POS, stock management and with something like Trello and Slack integrated.

Why '...on my own server...?? Why not cloud? Then you don't need a server or even your own network.

I want to chuck a locked-down ipad at each of the floor staff so they can take orders on it, I want the orders to come straight off of the stock, I want a synchronised to-do list they can get stuck in to in quieter points and messaging so they can be in the loop with any kitchen issues or anything like that.

Simple work flow solution - Office 365.

 

[ffox]

Oh. Forgot to say - you can use G-Suite if you have a Microsoft Phobia.

 

[Boyce]

Because I know I can rely on and trust my own machine. I'm sure a cloud solution would be better for most people

 

[ffox]

Because I know I can rely on and trust my own machine. I'm sure a cloud solution would be better for most

Okay. But, you're still using Cloud. Your Trello and Slack elements are on-line apps and your data creation and update is passing to your server across the Internet.
Yes, you want to maintain a local copy of all data and transaction logs, but O365 allows that to happen without the need for expensive servers or local area networks. Most of the automated processes can run when no local machines are switched on and updates can be replicated when your users start their day.
Every business has unique requirements. Both Google and Microsoft are providing platforms that enable those requirements to be satisfied without the need to engage in expensive infrastructure or expensive software development.
It's not the software that is important, it's the data.

 

[The Byre]

I just want dBaseIII back, but running on a modern machine.

No, I don't want colour, drag-n-drop, or any other silly and pointless features. I just want dBaseIII as it was.

 

[ffox]

I just want dBaseIII back, but running on a modern machine.

No, I don't want colour, drag-n-drop, or any other silly and pointless features. I just want dBaseIII as it was.

I remember those days. My fav was DataFlex on CPM or MPM op sys (also came for UNIX, but that was v.expensive). Very similar in concept to dBaseIII, but with built in transactional elements which meant you didn't need to do all the relational keys manually.

But, actually you can have that power and simplicity with SharePoint lists. Just name your list (DB) and it creates a default format. Name and define your columns (fields) and it delivers two default input forms. Enter or import your data and you're away. Create another list and define one column as a linked reference back to your first List and you have a relational DB.
Very similar to building a SS, except that it is multi user and has massive record storage capability.

 

[Gecko001]

Software that would never get outdated just because you have not got the latest computer.

Software that you did not need to connect to the internet to use.

 

[ffox]

Software that you did not need to connect to the internet to use.

No email or messaging in or out then??

 

[mmike86]

Okay. But, you're still using Cloud. Your Trello and Slack elements are on-line apps and your data creation and update is passing to your server across the Internet.
Yes, you want to maintain a local copy of all data and transaction logs, but O365 allows that to happen without the need for expensive servers or local area networks. Most of the automated processes can run when no local machines are switched on and updates can be replicated when your users start their day.
Every business has unique requirements. Both Google and Microsoft are providing platforms that enable those requirements to be satisfied without the need to engage in expensive infrastructure or expensive software development.
It's not the software that is important, it's the data.

Not many cloud services offers you full protection of your data including IP.

Some service provides are going further and claims right to anything what you upload.

Using own server based app is very smart. Unless you're keeping in there a stuff without any value.

 

[ffox]

Not many cloud services offers you full protection of your data including IP.

Some service provides are going further and claims right to anything what you upload.

Using own server based app is very smart. Unless you're keeping in there a stuff without any value.

Hmmm. Strange then that the UK Government have a Cloud first policy so far as public body IT is concerned. G Cloud is available for public bodies and providers of G Cloud services include Microsoft, AWS and Google. These same supplier's regular subscription Cloud services are all
SOC1™ (SSAE-16/ISAE-3402),SOC2™, SOC3™, ISO27001, ISO 27018:2014,FedRAMP and HIPPA compliant.
From 2017 all local and national government service IT provision is being pushed towards Cloud.
The question you should be asking is - can my own server be that secure?

The answer, unless your server is locked in a toilet, in a cellar, with no power and no staircase down to it, and a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the Leopard' (apologies to Douglas Adams), probably NO.
No local area network server, behind a firewall that has an Internet hole in it, is secure.

The corporate world is moving towards the Cloud rapidly, so is government.

 

[pentel]

One day we will be able to get a reliable internet connection to our industrial estate.......

Until that day local apps for us...

 

[The Byre]

From 2017 all local and national government service IT provision is being pushed towards Cloud. The question you should be asking is - can my own server be that secure?
The answer, unless your server is locked in a toilet, in a cellar, with no power and no staircase down to it, and a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the Leopard' (apologies to Douglas Adams), probably NO.
No local area network server, behind a firewall that has an Internet hole in it, is secure.
The corporate world is moving towards the Cloud rapidly, so is government.

My end is contractually obliged to have no ability to access or export anything from projects. The cloud is the precise opposite of what we do.

 

[ffox]

One day we will be able to get a reliable internet connection to our industrial estate.......

Sadly, that's still the case for too many. Having said that, there are many ways to connect to the Internet. For some years now I've ignored landline and cable connection and relied solely on 3G/4G mobile. I move around quite a lot and it works for me, but again, maybe not for everyone.

My end is contractually obliged to have no ability to access or export anything from projects.

And that's the other side of the coin. We have to accept that where we are and what we do dictates how we do it.

 

[it_and_sales_freelancer]

So, anyone else got examples of software they wish existed?

 

[The Byre]

So, anyone else got examples of software they wish existed?

Yes - dBaseIII for Windows.

 

[it_and_sales_freelancer]

I just want dBaseIII back, but running on a modern machine.

No, I don't want colour, drag-n-drop, or any other silly and pointless features. I just want dBaseIII as it was.

Is it drag and drop GUI interface builders you are railing against? Do you really want to be running a DOS text based interface in this age? Then there's web and mobile (non) support. I've no idea how well this holds up in multi-user scenarios.

I've spent a very short time looking into this and came across www dot dbase dot com/ Take this with a pinch of salt, and I'm by no means recommending these options, but this is what I gathered...

If you wanted to modernize a bit there is dbase 11.1 Plus - which is a native Windows solution that dbase seems to have evolved into. They make mention of some level of web and mobile support. (Microsoft had a dbase flavored solution in Visual FoxPro but that is discontinued quite some time.)

As for older versions of dbase, it seems you can run them with the aid of "dbdos" - a sort of DOS emulation layer. The intent seems to be to keep legacy apps running, rather than to aid building new ones, which is unsurprising. As for purchasing dbase itself - I didn't come across dbase iii being sold officially, but there is "dbase classic" - based on dbase 5.

As beloved as your dbase iii is, and as much as it stirs fond memories of nerdy nights of unbridled productivity, I'd think long and hard about whether you've really given modern alternatives a chance before building out solutions on mostly dead tech.

 

[it_and_sales_freelancer]

Perhaps my previous post sounds a bit snarky, apologies for that.

 

[garyk]

Ah memories, dBase III eh @The Byre ?

Yes the dbase corporation still maintains and releases a dbase product so you can actually get a dbase for windows, not sure how good it is mind. I used xbase for years; started out with Dbase III and IV, then clipper then foxpro.

Anyway download a copy of vDos and then dbase III and hey presto, back to the 80s! There was also an open source xbase clone called xharbour, itself now discontinued.

The problem with software (and vendors) is they have this blind belief that more features makes for a better product when in fact that isn't the case. Now I know that there is commercial pressure to get customers to upgrade and to do this means adding features but look at word and excel, for most users they are using 10% of the features and Word version 2 would suffice for 95% of users.

Back to the OP the problem I saw 20 years ago and still see today? Data islands. You get organisations with 'power users' who create something in word or excel to 'scratch their own itch'. Then what happens is other team members see this document and ask for copies of it. Very soon a whole department is using one spreadsheet or word template to do vital parts of their job.

Over time this grows into a solution in its own right but its not managed centrally or officially supported. Imagine this scenario in different departments and all of a sudden a business has useful information (in addition to centrally managed IT databases) scattered everywhere.

 

[deniser]

I would like a size finder app for my clothes store so that customers put in a height, chest and waist measurement on a page with a clothing item and it then pings up saying buy size X or this won't suit you etc.

My biggest problem is that people are too lazy to measure and even if they do, they can't be bothered to convert inches, feet and cms and even then, they have difficulty understanding size charts and the fact that the garment needs to be a bit bigger than the person etc.

This leads to lots of returns.

This would really transform my life (I think) if it would encourage people to measure.

A diagram could also pop up showing where the problems areas are if the person isn't within the dimensions of the garment in any size.

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

I would like a size finder app for my clothes store so that customers put in a height, chest and waist measurement on a page with a clothing item and it then pings up saying buy size X or this won't suit you etc.

My biggest problem is that people are too lazy to measure and even if they do, they can't be bothered to convert inches, feet and cms and even then, they have difficulty understanding size charts and the fact that the garment needs to be a bit bigger than the person etc.

This leads to lots of returns.

This would really transform my life (I think) if it would encourage people to measure.

A diagram could also pop up showing where the problems areas are if the person isn't within the dimensions of the garment in any size.

So, in hindsight... @deniser wants an app that goes...

upload an image of customer.

Size [X]

Colour [X]

the app finds something thats best suited for you...

and you get...

 

[it_and_sales_freelancer]

I would like a size finder app for my clothes store so that customers put in a height, chest and waist measurement on a page with a clothing item and it then pings up saying buy size X or this won't suit you etc.

Maybe check out these...

www dot easysize dot me/product
It says: "EasySize finds a customer's best fit in seconds using existing data, without the need for physical or clothes measurements. For new customers without a shopping history, we predict the best fit based on the customer's sizing with other brands." There's no pricing details listed however...

www dot virtusize dot com/site/how-it-works
Similar to above, except it lets the customer enter measurements if they have not purchased from the store before. Unsure if it provides product recommendations based on fit. Again, no prices listed....

 

[Needl Analytics]

Fact checker alert app that sat on your TV and automatically sent a 'strongly worded' email/tweet etc to anyone who claimed fake facts

 

[it_and_sales_freelancer]

Fact checker alert app that sat on your TV and automatically sent a 'strongly worded' email/tweet etc to anyone who claimed fake fact

You want to ddos a certain political figure, eh?

Jokes aside, a good number of apps have popped up in this field. Could tie it together with some NLP tech. Could see an app like that getting a bit of press.